Currently, the quality of the global supply of pure drinking water is decreasing at a far faster rate than the population is growing. Simple analysis would lead one to the conclusion that if this problem is not successfully addressed at this time, humanity shall cease to exist, as shall all living forms of life as we know and understand it. The United Nations International Children's Educational Foundation (UNICEF) estimates that every single day 20,000-30,000 children die of waterborne disease, i.e., typhoid, cholera, malaria, e-coli, etc. Also, newspapers report the presence of toxins in deep wells on a regular basis, as well as the contamination of reservoirs built to meet the population requirements in the 1930's. These reservoirs have been used as recreational resort areas where speed boats have spewed their partially burned fossil fuel saturated exhaust directly into the water, and floating gasoline slicks are spotted without even having to search. The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has already declared many of these reservoirs too contaminated for human consumption.
The landfills in this country, as well as the farmer's pesticides and fertilizers, have percolated down through the water tables across this country and across the industrialized nations of the world to the point that springs and wells are now testing positive for this spectrum of toxins. Numerous huge municipalities and small communities throughout the world dump raw sewage into our lakes, streams and rivers, dumping raw sewage downstream while pumping drinking water from the very same stream upstream of the sewage dump section for purification and for human consumption.
Numerous water filters have been introduced for use by the public in their homes; however, the greatest effort that heretofore has been made available for "pure drinking water" is a three stage device. This device is made by Alpine, and upon inspection, it does little to purify water. This device utilizes ozone (O3) generation; a UV lamp that is weak, and not effective to adequately kill microorganisms; and a carbon filter disc. Flow rates are not constant; therefore, it could not be rated at any specific kill rate due to the fact that the flow rate is never the same because it is determined by the user who turns on the faucet. Secondly, if ozone is really being generated in the grid in the bottom of this see-through plexiglass cylindrical device, if the bubbles are able to bypass the carbon disc around the edges, simple physics would dictate that water will always take the course of least resistance and it will also bypass the carbon disc.
Another device that is advertised nationally and very frequently is a device known as the Britta. It is a single stage filter utilizing the laws of gravity and a carbon block. Water is poured into the top holding container and gravity slowly pulls the water through the carbon block. The water is then held in a container that looks very much like a Mr. Coffee pot. Carbon (C) does reduce many toxic chemicals and gases from water; however, it does not purify the water. This device is also limited greatly by the capacity of water that it can produce in a 24 hour period. It most certainly would not be able to produce enough filtered water to supply a family of four with enough drinking and cooking water for an entire day. Furthermore, how does one determine when the carbon in this unit is saturated and no longer removing contaminants from the water. Any carbon block filtration device has a limited capacity, and when that limit is fulfilled, it ceases to function advantageously. This device also operates under the precepts that the water going into the device is purified by a municipal water supplier and does nothing to kill any living microorganisms that may reside in the water.
There has also been a hit parade of multi-level marketing water filtration devices that have been available to the consumer. Most notably and widely distributed are the NSA water filter and the Amway water filter. Both of these devices are two stage devices consisting of carbon block filtration with a paper filter surrounding the cylindrical block. Both companies are in the market of selling the recharge cartridges; however, they are only two stage filters that do not address the elimination of microorganisms that are present in the water.
Yet another product available to consumers and seen frequently on network commercials is a device called the Pur water filter. This does utilize a very small and low wattage UV lamp and a carbon block filter; however, once again the same questions arise: 1) when has the UV bulb been used to the point that it cannot produce the necessary wave length to kill microorganisms in the water; and 2) when is the carbon block saturated? How does one ascertain the efficiency of any of these devices when the flow rate is not constant nor is regular maintenance scheduled to assure that all components of the whole are functioning at the maximum levels of efficiency? The answer should be clear that these devices do not allow this protection. The vast majority of these devices screw onto the end of a faucet and, once there, are forgotten while the consumer has a false sense of security that their family is protected and safe.
A device that is sold to a consumer that knows little, if anything, about water purification will have the exact amount of faith in their device that they have in the sales person from whom they purchased it from. Once it is in place, purity is assumed; although in actuality with average usage, after 60 days any carbon block is saturated, after six months any low wattage compact UV bulb has lost its wave length efficiency, and the consumer has water that is actually worse than the water coming into the filter. Any carbon block after reaching its saturation point has the propensity to leach these over absorbed toxins back into the drinking water. This has a double dosing effect and makes these filters very problematic when not properly maintained.
Another issue that has not yet been addressed is carbon quality and its properties to actually remove contaminants from the drinking water. Carbon differs in grades from that commonly used as charcoal briquettes for Bar-B-Que and grilling foods to hobbyist grade, professional grade, laboratory grade, and up into scientific grades. Carbon is graded by its ability to absorb and remove toxins from water, air, and other aqueous substances. It is also important to note that the quality of carbon is the determinant factor for setting the price; therefore, the generally accepted principle that carbon removes toxins from water is only as good as the quality of the carbon contained therein.
Regarding the deionization aspects of the water purification industry, few consumers would even recognize the term ion exchange resin media, nor do they know that there are differing resins that are specifically designed to remove differing spectrums of ions. Regeneration chemical solutions are unknown to almost all of the public consumers and the possibility that the regeneration process could introduce toxic chemicals from the regeneration chemical solutions into their water designed for industrial purposes would never even enter their minds.
By far, the vast majority of the deionization business done throughout the world is conducted by a handful of large water softening companies. The units are rented and serviced on a monthly basis. Once a month, the brine tank is refilled with sodium chloride (NaCl). These units only contain cation beds which are positively charged to remove the majority of the mineral spectrum of ions from the water, i.e., calcium and magnesium. This spectrum of minerals reduces mineral buildups in faucets, tubs, water heaters, and any other appliance in the home that requires water. However, sodium (Na) has long been a known cause of medical problems that are mainly associated with the cardiovascular system to include: high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. These companies know that the public is aware of these risks and have countered by simply running a bypass line from the incoming water supply upstream from the softener, and running a line and faucet to the sink. This does eliminate exposure to the sodium that is released into the rest of the home; however, the water for human consumption is not treated nor purified. This leaves the consumer vulnerable to any water-borne contaminants that may be present in the incoming water supply. This seems a bit of a paradox, the ice maker, tub and hot water heater are protected while the owner is left totally vulnerable.
In the past two years, some of these companies have tried to avoid these bypasses and protect the consumer with an under the sink two stage process unit to remove the sodium which utilizes a process universally known as reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis is a process in which water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane in which the openings are smaller than the sodium molecule. This is a VERY slow process and the largest units yield only 30 gallons of sodium free water in any given 24 hour period of time. The water is then run through a carbon block. The greatest problem with reverse osmosis, other than the obvious low production quantities, is would you ever require more than 30 gallons of sodium free drinking, cooking, water for ice, etc.? That is, assuming that you paid for the larger unit; many units only yield 10 gallons per 24 hours of time. The danger in reverse osmosis lies in the fact that this semi-permeable membrane is very delicate, and particles held behind the membrane gradually reduce the amount of water that can pass through the membrane. This often causes a pressure build-up and a ruptured membrane. When this membrane ruptures, all that it has held behind it hits the drinking water at once in a spike, and the water is once again impregnated with deadly sodium. Once again, the lack of knowledge that the consumer possesses is very little and they may never know that the membrane is breached. This places the family that believes that it has done all it can do to provide its members with good quality drinking water at a risk of which they are unaware exists, and is paying for that quality monthly.
For all of these examples, the simple fact is that public drinking water quality continues to spiral downward at a far greater rate than the population is growing.